Rantoul man sentenced to 3 years in cannabis case

URBANA — A Rantoul man who had about 1 1/2 pounds of cannabis for sale in his home last fall has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Champaign County Judge Tom Difanis Wednesday sentenced David Nierenhausen, 41, whose last known address was in the 800 block of Illinois Street, for possession with intent to deliver cannabis.

Assistant State's Attorney Lindsey Clark said Nierenhausen pleaded guilty to that charge in December, admitting that on Oct. 25, he had about 1.5 pounds of cannabis intended for sale in his home.

Clark said based on previous buys of drugs that Rantoul police had arranged from Nierenhausen, they obtained a search warrant for his Illinois Street home. Besides the cannabis, they found four guns, one of which was a stolen revolver; 3.1 grams of psilocybin, a single dose of LSD; and more than $2,000 in cash, which included marked money police had used in earlier drug purchases.

Clark said Nierenhausen admitted the contraband in the home was his and that he'd been selling cannabis since 2005.

In return for his guilty plea, Clark dismissed charges of armed violence, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a stolen firearm.

USING, CARRYING, OR POSSESSING A FIREARM IN CONNECTION WITH A DRUG-TRAFFICKING CRIME OR CRIME OF VIOLENCE

Whether or not you have ever been convicted of any crime, if you use or brandish, display, carry, or possess a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime or a federal crime of violence, you can be charged - in addition to the crime itself - with a firearms crime. In fact, you can be convicted of this offense even if the gun is not on your person! The minimum sentence you can get for this crime is five years, with no parole. This sentence is in addition to any other sentence for the drug trafficking or violent crime. A person convicted of a second count of this offense - even during the same trial - will automatically receive another 25 years.

STOLEN GUNS

If you steal guns or possess guns that you have reasonable cause to believe were stolen, you can go to prison for up to 10 years.

Dear States Attorney and US Attorney help stop gun crime by enforcing existing firearms laws.